08 January,2022 09:00 AM IST | Melbourne | AFP
Novak Djokovic. Pic/AFP
Nick Kyrgios surprisingly came to the defence of Novak Djokovic on Friday, calling Australia's treatment of the World No. 1 "really bad" and urging authorities to "do better". The controversial Australian has previously been one of the Serbian's staunchest critics, at one point labelling him a "tool" over his response to the Coronavirus pandemic.
But with Djokovic - who has declared himself against vaccines and claimed to have an exemption to Australia's pandemic entry restrictions - in an immigration detention hotel, Kyrgios blasted the way he had been dealt with.
"Look I definitely believe in taking action, I got vaccinated because of others and for my mum's health," he said on social media. "But how we are handling Novak's situation is bad, really bad. Like these memes, headlines, this is one of our great champions, but at the end of the day, he is human. Do better."
Djokovic was detained on arrival in Australia earlier this week with his visa revoked for failing to meet the tough COVID-19 restrictions.
Meanwhile, Czech tennis player Renata Voracova has ended up in the same detention facility as Djokovic in the run-up to the Australian Open, the Czech foreign ministry said on Friday. "Renata Voracova is in the same detention [facility] as Djokovic, together with several other tennis players, in Melbourne," the ministry told AFP in an email.
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